Palfinger Marine U S A v. Shell Oil

90 F.4th 804
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 11, 2024
Docket22-30582
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 90 F.4th 804 (Palfinger Marine U S A v. Shell Oil) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Palfinger Marine U S A v. Shell Oil, 90 F.4th 804 (5th Cir. 2024).

Opinion

Case: 22-30582 Document: 00517030638 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/11/2024

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 22-30582 ____________ FILED January 11, 2024 Jeremy Earnest Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Plaintiff,

versus

Palfinger Marine U S A, Incorporated,

Defendant—Appellant,

Shell Oil Company,

Defendant—Appellee, _____________________

Patty Dupre, Individually and on behalf of minor child, D D; Gage Dupre,

Plaintiffs,

Defendant/Cross-Claimant/Third Party Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus Case: 22-30582 Document: 00517030638 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/11/2024

Shell Oil Company

Defendant/Cross-Defendant—Appellee,

Shell Offshore, Incorporated; Shell Exploration & Production Company,

Third Party Defendants—Appellees, _____________________

Devin Marcel, Individually & on behalf of Gary Marcel Estate,

Plaintiff,

Shell Offshore, Incorporated,

Shell Exploration & Production Company; Shell Oil Company,

Daniel J. Lebeouf, Jr.

2 Case: 22-30582 Document: 00517030638 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/11/2024

Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC Nos. 6:20-CV-685, 6:20-CV-756, 6:20-CV-773, 6:20-CV-813 ______________________________

Before Southwick, Engelhardt, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Leslie H. Southwick, Circuit Judge: Is a contract to inspect and repair lifeboats on an oil platform located on the Outer Continental Shelf a maritime contract? The answer matters because it affects whether indemnity might be owed by one corporate defend- ant to the other for payments to third parties. The district court held the contract was not a maritime one. We conclude it is. Further proceedings are necessary to determine whether indemnity must be paid. REVERSED and REMANDED. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND This case arises from a tragic June 2019 accident when a lifeboat de- tached from an oil platform, killing two workers and injuring another. The accident occurred on the Auger Tension Leg Platform, which is owned and operated by Shell Offshore, Inc., Shell Exploration & Production Company, and Shell Oil Company (collectively, “Shell”). It is located about 130 miles off the Louisiana coast. The parties agree that the Auger is not itself a vessel. Palfinger Marine, USA, Inc. states that the Auger is “a floating [Outer

3 Case: 22-30582 Document: 00517030638 Page: 4 Date Filed: 01/11/2024

No. 22-30582

Continental Shelf] facility” under the United States Coast Guard’s classifi- cations, and it is not a vessel “because its legs are attached, even if only tem- porarily, to the seafloor.” This description may place the Auger in the cate- gory of “spars,” which are not vessels because they are anchored to the sea- bed and are not intended to be moved. See Fields v. Pool Offshore, Inc., 182 F.3d 353, 355, 358 (5th Cir. 1999). The platform contains ten lifeboats, as required by the Coast Guard, sufficient to evacuate all oil rig workers in case of an emergency. 46 C.F.R. § 108.525. Shell is required to maintain those lifeboats “in good working or- der and ready for immediate use at all times” and to conduct quarterly drills where “[e]ach lifeboat must be launched with its assigned operating crew aboard.” 46 C.F.R. §§ 109.213(d)(3), 109.301(a). In 2018, Shell and Palfinger entered a Purchase Contract for goods and services pertaining to Shell’s lifeboats on the Auger Platform. 1 The Purchase Contract is akin to a master service contract. Under the contract, Palfinger agreed to provide annual inspections, maintenance, repairs of the lifeboats, and “5 year reoccurring cable change outs” of the davit systems used to launch the lifeboats from the platform. The contract also contains indemnity provisions, whereby Shell agreed to indemnify Palfinger for liabilities resulting from “death, injury, or disease” of any Shell employee. The provisions exclude any “liabilities that did not arise in connection with the contract” and “liabilities caused by [Palfinger’s] gross negligence . . . or wil[l]ful misconduct.”

_____________________ 1 The lifeboats are substantial crafts called TEMPSCs — “totally enclosed motor propelled survival craft.” They are approximately 24 feet long, have a full-load capacity of 13,306 pounds, and can carry 33 persons.

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In June 2019, Palfinger performed inspections on several lifeboats, including Lifeboat 6, as well as five-year cable change-outs on Lifeboats 1 and 3. As provided in the Purchase Contract, a purchase order was executed for these services. The work was performed from the oil platform and inside the lifeboats, which were attached to the platform by cables. It was during this inspection that Palfinger noticed a corroded release cable on Lifeboat 6 and recommended the cable be replaced. 2 Palfinger nonetheless reported that “[a]ll systems [were] found to be [in] correct working order” and instructed Shell to place the “[life]boats back to service and made ready for use.” A few weeks later, Shell conducted a quarterly drill of several lifeboats, including Lifeboat 6. The lifeboats were successfully launched from the platform. During the recovery of Lifeboat 6, the corroded cable failed, causing the lifeboat to fall 80 feet into the water. The two oil rig workers still on the lifeboat were killed. A third worker was injured. The injured worker and families of the deceased workers filed suit against Palfinger and Shell. Palfinger asserted third-party indemnity claims against Shell under the Purchase Contract. The individuals’ claims were settled and are not at issue in this appeal. In the settlement agreement, Palfinger and Shell preserved Palfinger’s indemnity defense for appeal. In district court, Shell and Palfinger filed cross-motions for partial summary judgment addressing the indemnity provisions in the Purchase Contract. The central disagreement was whether the Purchase Contract is a maritime contract. If the Purchase Contract is a maritime contract, then the indemnity provisions would be valid under maritime law. On the other hand, if the Purchase Contract is not maritime, Louisiana law would apply, making

_____________________ 2 The parties dispute whether Palfinger informed Shell that the cable needed to be replaced. That dispute is not material to this appeal.

5 Case: 22-30582 Document: 00517030638 Page: 6 Date Filed: 01/11/2024

the indemnity provisions unenforceable. The settlement agreement does not appear to concede that indemnity would be owed if the Purchase Contract is maritime. Our sole issue is the category in which to place the contract. Applying this circuit’s test from In re Larry Doiron, Inc., 879 F.3d 568 (5th Cir. 2018) (en banc), the district court held the Purchase Contract was not a maritime contract. The court granted Shell’s motion for partial summary judgment and denied Palfinger’s. This appeal timely followed. DISCUSSION The Plaintiffs’ claims arose under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”), giving the district court federal-question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. See Barker v. Hercules Offshore, Inc., 713 F.3d 208, 221 (5th Cir. 2013).

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90 F.4th 804, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/palfinger-marine-u-s-a-v-shell-oil-ca5-2024.